Consonant An Animated and Narrated Glossary of Terms used in Linguistics presents

Slide 2 Consonants as letters in the alphabet One common conception of consonants is to define them as a set of letters in the alphabet: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z For the purposes of phonetics and phonology, this conception is not very useful. E.g. in cake, cite, scissors are all different.

Slide 3 Consonants as classified by the IPA The International Phonetic Alphabet provides a list of (pulmonic) consonants. But are these all the consonants there are? Do all consonants share any intrinsic properties that allow them to be grouped together as a natural class?

Slide 4 Defining Consonants Definition 1: Consonants are phones whose articulation involves radical obstruction to airflow in the oral cavity. –Thus what counts as a consonant would depend on how one qualifies ‘obstruction’. Definition 2: Consonants are phones that do not serve as the nucleus of a syllable. –Thus what counts as a consonant would depend on one’s theory of syllable structure.

Slide 5 Example: [p] Is [p] a consonant? [p] involves closure of the lips, there is full obstruction of airflow.  [p] is a consonant by Definition 1. [p] can serve as an onset in [pit] or as coda in [tip], but never as the nucleus *[spt].  [p] is a consonant by Definition 2. Therefore, we are pretty certain that [p] is a consonant.

Slide 6 Example: [m] Is [m] a consonant? [m] involves closure of the lips, there is full obstruction of airflow at the mouth, even though air flows smoothly through the nose.  [m] is a consonant by Definition 1. [m] can serve as an onset in [mit] or as coda in [tim], but also as the nucleus [zm] (e.g. organism)  [m] is a NOT consonant by Definition 2.

Slide 7 Example: [w] Is [w] a consonant? [w] involves rounding of the lips, there no serious obstruction of airflow.  We are unsure if it satisfies Definition 1. [w] can serve as an onset in [wit] or possibly as coda in [kaw] cow We are not sure about [w] in the nucleus since it is phonetically not very distinct from [u].  We are unsure if it satisfies Definition 2. Therefore, we are uncertain if [w] is a consonant. In fact, different linguists analyze it differently depending on their theory and assumptions.

Slide 8 Other uncertainties There are many phones which status of consonantality remains uncertain, here are some of them. [ l, ɹ, h, , w, j]

The End Wee, Lian-Hee and Winnie H.Y. Cheung (2009) An animated and narrated glossary of terms used in Linguistics. Hong Kong Baptist University.